While the amount invested by Sharma in the three year-old Bengaluru-headquartered startup was not disclosed, he is expected to play an advisory roleBiswarup Gooptu | ET Bureau | November 15, 2016, 07:22 IST

NoBroker Technologies Solutions, the owner and operator of peer-to-peer home rentals brand NoBroker, has roped in Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma as an investor and advisor.

While the amount invested by Sharma in the three year-old Bengaluru-headquartered startup was not disclosed, he is expected to play an advisory role, similar to that of top Facebook executive Anand Chandrasekaran.

“He (Sharma) is a visionary and has built a ground-breaking business,” Akhil Gupta, chief technology officer at NoBroker, said of Sharma. The company, which has raised about $13 million in equity financing till date, counts investors such as SAIF Partners, Singapore-based, Teruhide Sato-founded venture capital firm Beenext, Japanese investor Digital Garage and Beenos, among others.

Founded in 2013 by three IIT and IIM alum – Gupta, Amit Agarwal and Saurabh Garg – NoBroker offers subscription fee-based services to potential tenants and home owners, bypassing the ubiquitous real estate broker. It was reported that the startup’s offices were attacked by a mob of about 50 real estate brokers last September, protesting against the company’s business model.

The startup also offers ancillary services such as connecting customers with moving and packing agents, undertaking rent negotiations and assisting with the drawing up of rental agreements.

“It’s a model that has connected with customers and possibly the first time in Indian real estate space that they are paying the platform usage fee upfront, after taking into account the potential savings in their overall transaction costs,” said Agarwal, chief executive of NoBroker.

According to him, NoBroker has served 15 lakh customers till date and is adding more than 1 lakh new registered customers every month. Paytm’s Sharma joins in when the startup is looking to expand its presence across the country. It currently operates in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai and Pune.